Terry Tuschen wrote:
I, too thought the color commentator for ESPN was a quimby.  He made it sound
like CC just came dowm from the hills to take on a Big(11)Ten school, which
immediately made me think he hasn't followed college hockey much this year.
He obviously doesn't belong to this list, and it may not hurt for him to
subscribe!
 
Deron Treadwell responded:
I assume that we are talking about Bob Norton here.....
However, anyone who chooses to criticize this man's knowledge of the game
needs to supply more evidence than above.  I've seen broadcasts from a lot
of different stations across the country and I haven't found one who knows
anymore than Norton does.
 
I have to agree with Deron, that Bob Norton is one of the most knowledgeable
television broadcasters when it comes to college hockey.  Other than Chris
MacClure(sp?) of PASS TV who announces the CCHA game of the week, who is as
knowledgeable of college hockey.  While you may not like his style or his
constant reference to juniors/prep school, many of us find this information
useful.  If you listened to the CC-UVM game Bob Norton made reference to the
fact that the WCHA recruits the majority of its players from the U.S. Junior
Leagues while Hockey East recruits the majority of its players from Eastern
prep schools.  In the Michigan-BU game Norton also pointed out that several
Michigan players, my son included, were recruited from Eastern prep schools.
 IMHO the comparison between players coming from juniors vs. The players
coming from prep schools is a valid observation and also may account for the
fact that the CC players were one or two years older than the Michigan
players.
 
While Bob Norton may sometimes stumble over the pronunciation of a player's
name, this does not diminish the fact that he is knowledgeable about college
hockey and has probably seen the particular player participate in several
other games.  I for one, did not take offense at Bob Norton stumbling over
the pronunciation of my son's name.  I give credit to Tom Mees for bailing
Bob Norton out by saying "just call him Bubba."
 
I repeat what Deron Treadwell has said. "Bob Norton is a class act and knows
his hockey."
 
Jack Berenzweig
 
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